1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power distribution circuit and, more particularly, to a configurable power distribution circuit.
2. Background Information
In a variety of situations, it is desirable to have the ability to transfer power between different systems or devices. It might be desirable, for example, to have the capability for a notebook computer to provide operating power to an attached peripheral device, such as a camera or a scanner. Likewise, it might be desirable for a personal computer (PC) docking station to provide operating power to a notebook computer docked to that PC docking station, such as via a power bus or power distribution cable, for example.
This capability, however, introduces complexities related to configuring the power source/sink relationships between a set of devices or systems. Of course, in this context, power source/sink relationships includes relationships in which power is neither sourced nor sinked, such as in a xe2x80x9cpass throughxe2x80x9d relationship, as explained in more detail herein. (Likewise, the terms xe2x80x9csource/sinkxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9csink/sourcexe2x80x9d are used interchangeably.) It would be desirable if a circuit or technique were available to address these power distribution complexities.
Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a circuit includes: a physical arrangement of power transistors. The circuit is adapted to couple a node to a power bus segment. The physical arrangement of power transistors is electronically configurable, based on externally derived electrical signals, to sink power to the node from the bus segment, source power from the node to the bus segment, and distribute power through the node.